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Trees to be ripped up in Brampton wildflower blunder

Wild Lakeland SaplingsWild Lakeland
The saplings will be pulled out and replanted at another site, the Woodland Trust said

Dozens of saplings are to be ripped up after a Cumbrian farmer was wrongly advised to plant them in a wildflower meadow.

The saplings were planted close to rare Greater Butterfly Orchids at Gateshaw Mill Farm, near Brampton, after the Woodland Trust gave the go-ahead.

Conservationist Rob Dixon, of Wild Lakeland, pointed out the blunder and the trees will now be moved.

The Woodland Trust said a "mistake with data" was to blame for the error.

Wild Lakeland WildflowersWild Lakeland
It is hoped the wildflowers will grow when the trees are removed

The farm supplies milk to confectionary-maker Nestle which pays for the tree-planting drive as part of its landscape management programme.

A spokesman said the trees were planted with the "best of intentions" and the meadow would be restored.

Wild Lakeland Greater Butterfly OrchidWild Lakeland
Rare Greater Butterfly Orchids grow in the meadow

A spokesman for the Woodland Trust said a database check had not revealed any areas of concern regarding the farm and the advice was given in error.

Conservationist Rob Dixon, of Wild Lakeland, said: "Wildflower rich grassland sites are often small, fragmented and under-recorded.

"As they are already such a rare and valuable habitat this makes them extremely vulnerable and at risk.

"As the trees got older they would have blocked out the light, destroying the flower habitat."